Photo: NASCAR on Facebook
A short NASCAR memo was published by racing officials and confirmed the rumors: they confiscated the wheels from Team Penske’s and Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing’s (RFK) cars. Here’s what’s going on.
In a surprising turn of events, RFK and their 2022 car scored major wins at Bluegreen Vacation Duels. That happened because Logano lost control of his Ford trying to block Buescher on Lap 60. The vehicle was destroyed. This means Logano will start Sunday’s Daytona 500 from the back of the grid.
While the accident remained as the unfortunate highlight of the first point awarding race with the next-gen cars, officials were watching closely RFK’s car. Team Penske was also secretly on the spot.
Fans thought they heard something different but couldn’t quite catch what was going on. Racing officials joined them in doubting everything was going as smooth as possible. After reviewing Thursday’s race, they decided to confiscate Penske’s and RFK’s wheels. The parts are already at the NASCAR Research & Development Center where further and detailed inspection will take place.
Even though Hendrick Motorsport team was the fastest in qualifying, their wheels remained on the racing cars.
NASCAR didn’t say why the wheels were confiscated, but this action might have something to do with the fact that the Fords were a bit noisier than the other cars. Fans that witnessed the race said the next-gen cars were “whistling like a jet engine”, while others confirmed “something was clearly different.”
According to the changes made for 2022, tires can’t have inner liners now because the wheels are bigger. This might be why NASCAR officials confiscated them for further investigation.
If there are violations found the teams will face harsher fines in 2022: $250,000-$500,000 and a deduction of maximum 180 points. Also, a crewmember will be suspended for six races.
“If there aren’t penalties for altering parts and pieces on the new car, then the business model with new car won’t work,” NASCAR senior VP Scott Miller said.
While the accident remained as the unfortunate highlight of the first point awarding race with the next-gen cars, officials were watching closely RFK’s car. Team Penske was also secretly on the spot.
Fans thought they heard something different but couldn’t quite catch what was going on. Racing officials joined them in doubting everything was going as smooth as possible. After reviewing Thursday’s race, they decided to confiscate Penske’s and RFK’s wheels. The parts are already at the NASCAR Research & Development Center where further and detailed inspection will take place.
Even though Hendrick Motorsport team was the fastest in qualifying, their wheels remained on the racing cars.
NASCAR didn’t say why the wheels were confiscated, but this action might have something to do with the fact that the Fords were a bit noisier than the other cars. Fans that witnessed the race said the next-gen cars were “whistling like a jet engine”, while others confirmed “something was clearly different.”
According to the changes made for 2022, tires can’t have inner liners now because the wheels are bigger. This might be why NASCAR officials confiscated them for further investigation.
If there are violations found the teams will face harsher fines in 2022: $250,000-$500,000 and a deduction of maximum 180 points. Also, a crewmember will be suspended for six races.
“If there aren’t penalties for altering parts and pieces on the new car, then the business model with new car won’t work,” NASCAR senior VP Scott Miller said.
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